Michigan

Lions' offense struggles without Calvin Johnson

AP PhotoDetroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson watches warmups before a game against the St. Louis Rams on Sunday. Johnson was inactive for the game.DETROIT -- Calvin Johnson should ask for a raise.

The Detroit Lions receiver, who signed a $64 million contract as
the second overall draft choice three years ago, apparently is worth
it. The Lions can't seem to score without him.

Johnson, who has a sore right knee, missed the Green Bay Packers
game two weeks ago and the Lions were shut out 26-0. Johnson also
missed Sunday's 17-10 loss to the then-winless St. Louis Rams and
Detroit's other receivers didn't have a single catch until the fourth
quarter.

Bryant Johnson and Dennis Northcutt, who replaced Calvin Johnson,
each had two dropped passes and zero receptions in the first three
quarters.

Bryant Johnson dropped a long pass on Detroit's first series that
would've put the Lions in field goal range. At the end of the first
half, Northcutt dropped a pass that also would've put the Lions in
field goal range. The Lions came away with zero points both times.

"Obviously, a big factor in the game,'' Lions coach Jim
Schwartz said of the drops. "We had a chance to make a big play on the
very first drive of the game and don't get that one. We had drops from
all of our positions, running backs, receivers and tight ends.''

Dropped passes also came courtesy of tight end Brandon Pettigrew
and running back Aaron Brown. On the pass to Brown, deep in Rams'
territory, the ball skipped through his fingers and was intercepted by
safety James Butler.

Fortunately for the Lions, Butler made the mistake
of coming out of the end zone and then retreating into the end zone,
where he was tackled by Detroit running back Kevin Smith for a safety.

Rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford, who missed the previous two
games with a knee injury, finished with 14 completions in 33 attempts
for 168 yards and a passer efficiency rating of 46.0.

"We were a little bit rusty in the passing game, but I'm sure Matt
will put all of those on himself, that he could've made a better throw,
but they were all balls our receivers should get,'' Schwartz said.

Which is exactly what Stafford did.

"I wasn't hitting guys, the ball wasn't being placed where it
needed to be placed and we had some trouble catching it today,''
Stafford said. "It goes on everybody's shoulders. We lose as a team.''

"We took shots downfield but we didn't make those plays. Calvin's
a guy who makes those plays for us,'' Schwartz said. "It's obvious he
affects the game. That's no excuse, our guys have to make plays when
given that opportunity.''

New to the playbook?Schwartz said that one of Stafford's long incompletions was
intentional. At the end of the first half, the Lions had a fourth-and-2
at their own 43-yard line with four seconds remaining.

"The last play of the first half, we don't want to punt. We just
told Matt throw as far as he could and get it out of bounds - we don't
want a blocked punt there,'' Schwartz said, adding that Detroit didn't
have time for a Hail Mary into the end zone.

"Something bad could happen if he holds the ball too long and ends
up getting sacked and stripped and they score. To wait for those guys
to get all the way to the end zone when they're 60 yards away, he's
going to put himself in a little bit of harm's way. If it was the end
of the game, I'd agree with you, but it's the end of the half. He
couldn't wait any longer and he had to get rid of that ball.''

Morris an able backupRunning back Kevin Smith suffered a shoulder injury and Schwartz
said he could have returned if necessary, but backup Maurice Morris was
doing a solid job.

Smith averaged 2.8 yards per carry with his 45 yards on 16 carries
while Morris averaged 4.5 yards with 63 yards on 14 attempts. Rookie
Aaron Brown also had two carries for 15 yards.

"Aaron's got speed and we have to try to get the ball in his
hands. He made a couple of plays but then he had a couple that he
needed to capitalize on and he didn't,'' Schwartz said.

Schwartz: No trend settingThe Lions have lost four games in a row since beating Washington, but Schwartz said he doesn't believe the Lions are regressing.

"I don't know about reverse. There was a bump in the road in Green
Bay, we played poorly in all aspects of that game. This game fits into
a different category,'' Schwartz said. "We had a chance to make plays
and we didn't get it done. I don't see a trend there, I think both
games were completely different games.''